Patriots Expected To Activate WR A.J. Brown Off IR

Brown, 29, suffered a high-ankle sprain in New England’s Week 1 loss to the Seahawks and landed on IR shortly after. The team designated him to return on Wednesday, but he was only a limited participant in all three practices this week with a questionable designation for Sunday’s divisional matchup. His activation from IR indicates that he will face New York, though the Patriots could keep him on a limited snap count in his first action in a month.

Brown was originally expected to miss as many as six weeks, so coming off IR as soon as he is eligible should be considered a win for New England. Drake Maye’s early-season struggles after an MVP-caliber 2025 have been a top story across the NFL; getting his top wideout back on the field should help him build off his last two encouraging performances.

Brown’s return is also timely considering Mack Hollins’ placement on IR last week due to a calf injury. Hollins stepped up after his Pro Bowl teammate went down and ranked second on the team in receiving through five games. Free agent signing Romeo Doubs has stepped up, too; after laying a goose egg in Week 1, he caught 12 passes for 203 yards over the next three games. Week 5 featured just one catch for 16 yards on three targets, but Brown should draw the attention of opposing defenses and open up easier matchups for Doubs.